Aquacultural Engineering最新文献

{"title":"Behavioral response of farmed Cod to environmental drivers and interaction with feeding practice","authors":"Peygham Ghaffari ,&nbsp;Thor Magne Jonassen ,&nbsp;Johannes Kvam ,&nbsp;Fredrik Staven","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102560","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102560","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated how environmental drivers and feeding practices influence the vertical behavior of farmed Atlantic Cod (<em>Gadus morhua</em>) in a commercial sea cage environment. A 70-day continuous observation was conducted at a farm in northern Norway, utilizing a dual-echosounder setup combined with temperature loggers and model-derived environmental data, including current velocity, salinity, and oxygen profiles. Cod behavior was compared between submerged (5 m) and surface feeding regimes across four sea cages. Fish consistently avoided surface layers above 15^∘C, aggregating at cooler depths, and shifted upward as thermal stratification weakened into autumn. Submerged feeding supported tighter aggregation, stronger rhythmicity, and vertical cohesion, while surface feeding induced anticipatory surfacing, behavioral fragmentation, and increased thermal exposure. These patterns were amplified by Cod’s physoclistic physiology and anatomical predispositions to strain from repeated vertical movement. Signal processing of depth-use patterns revealed stronger behavioral synchronization under submerged feeding, particularly aligned with the 48-hour feeding cycle. Aggregation dynamics were more closely aligned with residual current patterns and deeper water mass structure than with tidal forcing, and air temperature emerged as a reliable and practical proxy for estimating the vertical center of biomass. This study provides critical insight into farmed Cod’s depth preferences and environmental rhythms, which may be essential for enhancing fish welfare, reducing mortality, and improving the sustainability of Cod aquaculture.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102560"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143942716","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Energy optimization in large-scale recirculating aquaculture systems: Implementation and performance analysis of a hybrid deep learning approach","authors":"Ashwaq M. Alnemari ,&nbsp;Wael M. Elmessery ,&nbsp;Farahat S. Moghanm ,&nbsp;Víctor Espinosa ,&nbsp;Mahmoud Y. Shams ,&nbsp;Abdallah Elshawadfy Elwakeel ,&nbsp;Omar Saeed ,&nbsp;Mohamed Hamdy Eid ,&nbsp;Sadeq K. Alhag ,&nbsp;Laila A. Al-Shuraym ,&nbsp;Lamya Ahmed Alkeridis ,&nbsp;A.E. El-Namas","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102561","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102561","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) represent an increasingly important solution for sustainable fish production, yet their high energy consumption remains a significant operational challenge. This study extends our previous work on using Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) for optimizing feeding rates in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) by developing a hybrid Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)-DDPG approach for energy optimization in a large-scale commercial RAS facility. The system, comprising 108 tanks with a total water volume of 3132 m³ , was monitored over a complete annual cycle, collecting 8760 hourly observations of environmental, biological, and operational parameters. The hybrid model achieved high predictive accuracy for energy consumption patterns, with R² values exceeding 0.91 for key components. Implementation resulted in a 15–20 % reduction in daily energy consumption while maintaining optimal water quality. Economic analysis revealed a 17 % decrease in energy costs per kilogram of fish production. The system's performance was validated under varying fish biomass densities (80–120 kg/m³) and seasonal temperature profiles. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating deep learning techniques for energy optimization in RAS, offering a scalable solution for enhancing the economic and environmental sustainability of intensive aquaculture operations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102561"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143929045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring new frontiers: Current status and future research directions for AIoT application in shrimp farming in the Vietnamese Mekong delta","authors":"Tan Duy Le ,&nbsp;Huynh Phuong Thanh Nguyen ,&nbsp;Minh Tu Nguyen ,&nbsp;Ba Nhat Minh Le ,&nbsp;Kim Khoi Dang ,&nbsp;Phuc Quang Ha ,&nbsp;Tan Viet Tuyen Nguyen ,&nbsp;Hong Quan Nguyen","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102559","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102559","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices for data sensing, communication, collection, exchange, and, accordingly, a huge amount of data being generated, the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) stands out as an excellent tool to provide learning capabilities for those interconnected devices. Together with high-speed mobile networks and big data, the mixture of AI and IoT, namely Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), enables data analytics to optimize and enhance the performance of IoT systems. AIoT can potentially transform many aspects of human activities, especially agriculture applications. Shrimp farming, an essential sector of the aquacultural industry that provides a significant source of income and food for many communities worldwide, is expected to benefit most from AIoT. It is noticed that traditional shrimp farming methods are often labor-intensive and environmentally damaging. By integrating AIoT into the shrimp farming process, significant improvements can be achieved across various domains, including monitoring, disease prevention, feeding optimization, and sustainability. This study aims to serve as a comprehensive literature survey and a fieldwork carried out in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). We explore the promising application of AIoT, its drivers, and barriers in shrimp farming globally, and specifically in the VMD. Our findings indicated that although the adoption of AIoT in this domain is still limited, the IoT technology has been widely used for monitoring and managing shrimp farming systems. This includes tracking essential environmental parameters such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and gas emissions. Furthermore, automatic control systems have been implemented to ensure optimal shrimp growth and survival of the shrimps. Those results were verified through interviews with local authorities and shrimp farmers. Despite discrepancies in the perception and level of promising AIoT applications, efforts have been made by shrimp farmers to implement basic IoT systems for environmental monitoring and farm management towards optimizing farming time and lowering labour demand. However, the application of continuous environmental monitoring and reporting using AI technologies is still limited. Owing to the advantages of learning capability and data analytics, AI integration into IoT for shrimp farming can substantially enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness while lowering labour demand and environmental impacts. Further research is, therefore, necessary to reach the full potential of AIoT in other critical areas of shrimp farming, such as disease detection and prevention, as well as supporting traceability and food safety monitoring in the whole production chain.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102559"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143937558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of indoor biofloc-based system on water quality, growth, and disease resistance of black tiger shrimp","authors":"Leobert D. de la Peña ,&nbsp;Erish G. Estante-Superio ,&nbsp;Therese Marie M. Geanga ,&nbsp;Jose Louis A. Castellano ,&nbsp;Christian P. Cordero ,&nbsp;Sharmen C. Berlin ,&nbsp;Carlo C. Lazado","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102564","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102564","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The present study investigates the efficiency of an indoor biofloc-based system for the intensive culture of black tiger shrimp (<em>Penaeus monodon)</em>. Water quality, growth performance, and disease resistance of black tiger shrimp (0.35 ± 0.07 g) were evaluated after 90 days of rearing in a zero-water exchange system. Shrimp were stocked at 180 individuals/m³ in nine 5-ton concrete tanks under three treatments: biofloc with molasses (M), biofloc with wheat flour (WF), and a control group reared in a conventional clear water (CW) flow-through system. The WF treatment resulted in significantly higher final weight and improved FCR compared to CW (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Survival was also significantly higher in both biofloc-based treatments despite elevated concentrations of total ammonia nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen, and nitrate-nitrogen levels in the WF group (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Additionally, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis indicated that shrimp reared and challenged in the biofloc system exhibited better resistance to <em>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</em> (VP_AHPND1212), as evidenced by higher survival rates. Although total hemocyte count, prophenoloxidase, and respiratory burst activities were not significantly different from the control group (<em>p</em> &gt; 0.05), they were consistently elevated in the biofloc-based treatments. Overall, biofloc-based treatments, specifically WF, proved effective in biofloc formation, contributing to improved water quality, enhanced immune response and disease resistance, and superior growth performance in <em>P. monodon</em>. This study highlights the potential of indoor biofloc systems as a sustainable strategy for intensive <em>P. monodon</em> culture in indoor biofloc tanks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102564"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of a novel reference feed intake model for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) based on temperature and body weight","authors":"Marina Linhares Azevedo ,&nbsp;Tomé Silva ,&nbsp;Filipe Soares ,&nbsp;Sergey Budaev ,&nbsp;Luis E.C. Conceição ,&nbsp;Ivar Rønnestad","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102562","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102562","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Precision aquaculture requires the use of advanced technologies to optimize fish management. Substantial progress has been achieved in modeling Atlantic salmon (<em>Salmon salar</em>) growth and feeding behavior. However, there is still no simple mathematical model to predict feed intake that can be used for reference and benchmarking. This study aims to infer basic parametrized equations for Atlantic salmon feed intake using a minimal number of predictors: body weight and temperature. We used data from 64 previous publications and 25 commercial feeding tables. Various mathematical models were tested, incorporating different temperature functions and fitting methods. The following model provided the most accurate predictions under a wider range of temperatures and fish body weights:</div><div><span><math><mrow><mrow><mi>FI</mi></mrow><mo>=</mo><mn>0.006</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mrow><mi>BW</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>0.80</mn></mrow></msup><mo>×</mo><msup><mrow><mi>e</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>(</mo><mrow><mn>0.287</mn><mspace></mspace><mo>×</mo><mspace></mspace><mrow><mi>temperature</mi></mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>0.012</mn><mspace></mspace><mo>×</mo><mspace></mspace><msup><mrow><mi>temperature</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></mrow><mo>)</mo></mrow></msup></mrow></math></span></div><div>where FI is the feed intake (g/fish/day), BW the average body weight of fish (g) and temperature the water temperature (°C). Using simple least squares and robust fitting methods yields better prediction capacities, while data from commercial feeding tables does not significantly enhance model accuracy. This basic reference model developed on this study can be readily used as an applied tool, e.g. estimating the feed amount required for production or trials, determining baseline feed intake when building more complex models accounting for other factors, developing growth models taking feed intake as input, evaluating current feeding practices. Its simplicity, adaptability, and broad applicability represent a valuable contribution to the field, providing a practical foundation for future model development and decision-making in Atlantic salmon farming management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102562"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143935837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"PUFFER-DETR: Tiger puffer similar abnormal behavior recognition based on transformer","authors":"Yixi Zhang ,&nbsp;Zeyuan Hu ,&nbsp;Jihang Liu ,&nbsp;Yinjia Li ,&nbsp;Jianjian Lin ,&nbsp;Yue Wang ,&nbsp;Hong Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102552","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102552","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fish behavior monitoring is crucial for fish farmers to obtain growth information, improve aquatic product quality, and adjust aquaculture strategies. However, the small size, severe occlusion, and similar behavior of fish pose challenges for identifying abnormal behavior. Therefore, this study proposes an abnormal behavior detection method based on PUFFER-DETR. Using the TripletAttention backbone network, the ability of the model to extract features of fish swarm behavior and individual fish behavior in turbid water has been improved. Furthermore, weight calculation is performed on the similar behavioral characteristics between individual fish and the behavioral characteristics of the fish groups to obtain a relationship feature map of similar behavior. Cross-scale feature fusion is performed using SHS-FPN, and the similarity behavior features of individual fish are adjusted to avoid the loss of similarity behavior features during the feature fusion process. Experimental results indicate that PUFFER-DETR achieved the best fusion accuracy at a speed of 127.9 frames per second, with an average accuracy of 92.8 %. This method can accurately detect abnormal behavior of fish and assist aquaculture personnel in judging the growth status of fish. Source code is available at <span><span>https://github.com/DLOU-FishBehavior/PUFFER-DETR</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102552"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143937518","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Measurement of settling velocities of feeds and fecal solids in aquacultural applications – A critical review","authors":"John Colt ,&nbsp;George Tchobanoglous ,&nbsp;Ronald B. Johnson","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102548","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102548","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The majority of solids in intensive culture systems are from uneaten feed and fecal solids. The settling velocity of feeds and fecal solids is needed for the design of settling basins and modeling of the impacts of netpens. The UFT column developed in Germany in the 1980s has become the dominant column type for wastewater settling testing. The primary advantage of this column compared to conventional columns is the preconcentration of the settleable solids, elimination of problems with time zero estimates, and reduced sampling requirements.</div><div>The conventional settling velocity analysis presented in standard references, while theoretically correct, and is virtually impossible to apply to actual fecal waste because of uncertainty in numbers, mass, shape, density, and drag characteristics. In addition, this analysis is unneeded, as the removal efficiency is measured directly in the settling column tests. Because the UFT column uses only the settleable solid portion of the total suspended solids, the settling results will depend on the preconcentration process. If this process misses a significant portion of the settleable solids, the resulting settling tests will overestimate the removal efficiency. If the ratio of non-settleable solids/total suspended solids is known, the resulting removal efficiency can be presented in terms of either settleable solids or total suspended solids. Additional research is needed to develop standardized protocols for the collection of solids and handling prior to analysis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102548"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143895809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence of tank geometry and background color on growth performance and immune response of endangered Indian butter catfish Ompok bimaculatus","authors":"Chandan Debnath","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102550","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102550","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigated the effects of tank shape (circular, square, rectangular) and background color (blue, black, white) on the growth performance, immune response, and cannibalistic behavior of <em>Ompok bimaculatus</em> in a 12-week trial. Nine treatment combinations were tested in triplicate using a 3 × 3 factorial design. Growth parameters, immune indicators, and cannibalism rates were assessed. Results showed that circular tanks with black backgrounds yielded the best outcomes, with the highest weight gain (58.7 ± 2.3 g), lowest feed conversion ratio (1.42 ± 0.05), and superior immune responses, including the highest total leukocyte count (3.8 × 10⁴ ± 0.2 × 10⁴ cells/mm³) and respiratory burst activity (0.58 ± 0.03 OD540nm). Importantly, circular tanks with black backgrounds also exhibited the lowest incidence of cannibalism (2.3 ± 0.5 %) compared to other treatments. The interaction between tank shape and color was significant for most parameters, indicating that the effect of background color varied depending on tank geometry. Analyses revealed that circular tanks provided more uniform water flow and light distribution, while black backgrounds reduced stress-related behaviors. This study highlights the importance of optimizing tank design to enhance growth, immunity, and mitigate cannibalism in <em>O. bimaculatus</em> aquaculture, which is crucial for improving productivity and sustainability of this endangered catfish species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102550"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143883057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Numerical investigation on flow field and drag force distribution of a semi-submersible truss net cage with compartmentalization","authors":"Hang-Fei Liu ,&nbsp;Xiaohua Huang ,&nbsp;Guoliang Pang ,&nbsp;Gen Li ,&nbsp;Taiping Yuan ,&nbsp;Yu Hu ,&nbsp;Qiyou Tao","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102551","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102551","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The internal compartments of large deep-sea semi-submersible truss net cages are of great significance to living environments for farmed fish and facilitating efficient harvesting. The present study focuses on semi-submersible truss net cages with compartments, and combines computational fluid dynamics (CFD) theory and porous media methods to explore the flow speed, drag force distribution and torque of the truss net cage. The results indicate that the internal compartments of the truss net cage have a significant effect on the flow speed distribution. Among three cases, including no netting inside net cage (C0), radial netting configuration (C1) and nine-grid layout (C2), C1 has the most significant damping effect on the flow speed, which is attenuated to 58.1 % inside the net cage, followed by C2, which is attenuated to 49.6 %, and C0 has the least effect, attenuating to 43.3 %. In addition, the drag force exerted on the internal nets and the side nets is the largest, accounting for 22.5 % and 20.1 % respectively, followed by the thick column, accounting for 11.8 %, and the middle cross brace is the smallest, accounting for 3.1 %. As for total force, the drag force exerted on the C1 is higher than that on the C0 and C2, but the difference between the drag forces exerted on the C1 and C2 is small, less than 1.5 %. Furthermore, the torque exerted on the C1 and C2 is higher than the torque on the C0, while the torque amplitude of the C1 and C2 is not much different. We also found a phenomenon that the presence of the internal nets causes the position where the torque direction changes from clockwise to counterclockwise to shift by about 1.0 cm along the positive z direction. The present study comprehensively analyzes the changes in the flow speed, drag force and torque of the semi-submersible truss net cage with compartmentalization, which is of great significance for guiding the design and optimization of practical aquaculture engineering equipment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102551"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143883056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence and the underlying mechanisms of substrate type on the growth of razor clam Sinonovacula constricta","authors":"Zhanfeng Liang,&nbsp;Jilin Xu,&nbsp;Shuonan Ma,&nbsp;Chunpu Zhao,&nbsp;Ying Zeng,&nbsp;Anhao Wang,&nbsp;Wenhao Yin,&nbsp;Kai Liao","doi":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102549","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquaeng.2025.102549","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The bivalve aquaculture sector constitutes a vital pillar of China's fisheries economy, with substrate serving as a pivotal environmental determinant influencing the efficacy of aquaculture practices. However, how substrate characteristics affect the bivalve growth remains unclear. In the present study, the widely cultured bivalve species, namely the razor clam <em>Sinonovacula constricta</em>, was chosen as the subject of our research, and an experiment was conducted to examine its cultivation across four distinct types of substrates: artificial, sandy, muddy, and sandy silt substrates. The results demonstrated that substrate grain size (GS) was a pivotal determinant influencing the growth of razor clams. Growth indicators, including wet weight, shell length, shell width, exhibited a significant decrease as the substrate grain size increased. More specifically, <em>S. constricta</em> exhibited optimal growth within the GS range of 6.7–16.0 μm and the most inferior growth at a substrate grain size of 293.0 μm. A coarse-grained substrate (293.0 μm) significantly impeded essential behaviors such as burrowing and feeding, thereby markedly reducing the growth rate of razor clams. Furthermore, extended exposure to a coarse-grained substrate may trigger oxidative stress in <em>S. constricta</em>, leading to cellular structural and functional impairments, which subsequently suppress the activity of antioxidant enzymes (e.g., catalase) and downregulate the expression of antioxidant genes (e.g., catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase). Despite the substrate significantly altering the phosphorus concentration in the overlying water, the frequent water exchanges within the aquaculture system prevented the conversion of these elevated phosphorus levels into accessible primary productivity for filter-feeding razor clams, thus yielding no significant impact on clam growth. These findings provide valuable insights for substrate selection in razor clam aquaculture, thereby contributing to the enhancement of both the quality and economic viability of razor clam farming operations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8120,"journal":{"name":"Aquacultural Engineering","volume":"111 ","pages":"Article 102549"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143901977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}